


She Didn't Have Time

by Kobuzero



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Based on a song, F/F, One Shot, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Single Mother Cat Grant, Slight Canon Divergence, Sort of a Coffee Shop AU?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 16:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11763840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kobuzero/pseuds/Kobuzero
Summary: Cat Grant is a divorced single mother and having a bad day, especially when she gets a flat tire on her car that she absolutely doesn't have time for, but what about when a beautiful blonde stops to help her?





	She Didn't Have Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the song She Didn't Have Time by Terri Clark. I had already been wanting to write a cute Kara shows up in Cat's life type of fic, so this happened. Enjoy guys :3

The din of idling engines and heat of the summer relentlessly crept in through the window of Cat Grant's BMW as she sat in traffic for what seemed like the fifth year in a row. With a sigh she rested her arm on the window and head in her hand, and glared out the window at the semi truck in the next lane that was loud enough to drown out her radio. As the time dragged on and it became clear that they weren't going anywhere anytime soon, her mind began to drift off down memory lane. It was a bit silly now that she thought about it, how she had ended up in the middle of National City on a 100 degree weather day.

The day that everything changed was a stark contrast to this one. Instead of the bright and sunny weather of National City, and it's white sand beaches that tourists frequented it for, it had been a gloomy grey day in Metropolis, the kind of day that a mediocre novelist would use to set the scene of their mystery romance drama novel. From morning to the evening that went straight to hell it had been that way, and Cat distinctly remembered the all but silent evening with the only sounds that reached her ears being the rain that pelted the windows of her house and her then husband saying goodbye from the edge of the porch like she had been some casual friend, and not someone she had given the past five years of her life and heart to.

She recalled in vivid detail the sinking of her heart into her stomach as he strolled out the door with his suitcase and a few shopping bags full of his belongings like he was off on a business trip, and would return soon to his wife and child that he was leaving behind. It was enough to make her blood boil, even now as she unconsciously gripped the steering wheel of her car, and mentally kicked herself for being so stupid to trust that idiot of a man. She recalled watching as he didn't waste any time looking back, not even up at the bedroom that his son was sleeping in as he pulled out of the driveway.

 _'Even a stranger would've shown more compassion than that...'_ Cat thought as she tried to pull her thoughts away from it all, but she was only reminded that she was still stuck in the abhorrent traffic. Still, it was better than where she had come from. Since that day, she had never really thought about what happened, she didn't have the time. The very next morning it had been back to work at the Daily Planet and writing for the gossip column about celebrities who married girls half their age and divorced them the next day, and taking care of their three year old son who needed his mother. Even now, Cat couldn't remember if she had even cried over the whole thing, she probably didn't, how could she? It was all so sudden that she could barely comprehend what was going on by the time that old Buick that he drove turned the street corner and disappeared down the next street.

Cat scoffed out loud as she recalled the phone conversation with her mother only a few days after that when she was asking if she could watch Carter for the weekend. She'd said the same thing he said. “You're better off without him.” and “He's not what you need.” As if her mother knew anything about what a woman needs, let alone her daughter that she only talked to when she needed to build herself up by putting her down.

Still, Cat Grant, small time gossip column writer and now single mother had soldiered on with her life, what else was she going to do? She had to give her son the life he deserved, father or not, and she had worked her ass off to just that. Until one day, she watched Perry White throw a chair out a window because they had missed a deadline, and she decided that it was time for herself and Carter to strike out on their own, and leave the gloomy days of Metropolis behind them, to start new, and for Cat to forge her own path in life.

Now, five years later, here she sat in traffic on an absurdly hot day, on her way home from work and back to her son who reminded her every day that all the blood sweat and tears she had put into getting her small business running was worth it. At the thought of Carter waiting for her at home, ready with a big smile and hug to greet her at the door, Cat smiled to herself, and as if someone pressed the play button on her life, the cars began to move again. Finally, she thought as she stepped on the gas peddle, and steered the car down the freeway as her day seemed like it was about to brighten up.

Of course, life took that as a challenge, and no sooner had she thought it than she heard a loud pop and hiss from the backside of her car, and it suddenly began to drive just a bit slower. Cat Grant had a flat tire... _'Of all the things to happen today.'_ She grumbled to herself as she pulled the car over to the side of the busy highway and threw it in park. She yanked her cell phone out of her purse and dialed the number for Triple A, but just as she did so, the tell tale beep of a dying phone was the response and her phone went dead. She looked deadpan out the window, of course it would die now when she actually needed it for something other than grilling incompetent employees or making fake-pleasantries with potential business partners, or someone who had the scoop on a story she wanted.

“It's alright.” Cat said to herself as she took a deep breath. “I'm a grown, independent woman who runs her own business, I can fix a flat tire.”

She got out of the car and went to the trunk where she assumed she would find the spare tire, and sure enough there it was. Cat took a deep breath and reached down to pull it out. It was heavier than she expected, but still she managed to haul it out of the trunk and onto the side of the road. The jack wasn't nearly as bad, but for a woman who wasn't used to lifting more than stacks of paper it was like weight training, and she made a mental note to try and make time to go to the gym. The key word there being try.

With a soft grunt of effort she rolled the tire so she could lean it on the side of the car, and then attempted to get the jack situated under the car. Once she finally got it, she began to try and lift the car, she felt a surge of confidence as the car began to lift up, but it hadn't got more than an inch off the ground before the jack got infinitely harder to press down, but she persisted, and eventually got it far enough off the ground to where she could pull the tire off. Next came the tire iron, and now already tired from the task of lifting the car up, she found that she probably didn't have the strength to turn the tire iron to begin with, let alone now. After about twenty minutes that only left her with burning hands and muscles Cat threw up her hands in defeat and just groaned in frustration while glaring at the tire.

With tired eyes she looked off to the side of the freeway, at the sea of buildings that was National City that was now bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun that was only an hour away from disappearing beneath the horizon. Then the thought of Carter sitting at home, probably wondering why his mother was so late coming home settled on her mind, and it spurred her to give this thing another go. She was in the middle of putting all of her effort into turning that stupid tire iron like it was a life and death struggle, when she heard a voice next to her.

“Excuse me, um... Do you need some help?”

Cat snapped to look up at the stranger, and was taken aback for a second. She wasn't sure what she had expected to see, some middle aged woman like herself, or some cocky guy hoping to 'help the little lady'. Not a gorgeous young blonde woman with glasses and a friendly smile that made her forget for a moment that she was standing on the side of a hot dusty highway.

When Cat found her voice again she said “Yes, please.” gladly giving the woman space as she motioned to the tire iron. Once again, she wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't to watch this young woman reach down and turn the tire iron as if it was a loose doorknob. Within a few minutes the old flat tire was removed and the new one put on it. Cat was pretty sure she actually did it faster than the guys at Triple A would have.

When she was finished she stood up straight and brushed off the dust from her hands and said, “There you go, would you like me to put this stuff back in the trunk?” The blonde offered with another friendly smile that made Cat smile gratefully in return. “That would be great, and...thank you. Really.”

“Oh, no need to thank me, I'm always happy to help someone in need.” The girl replied as she put the tire and jack back in the trunk and closed it, but didn't immediately return to her own car.

Cat held up a hand. “No really, I insist on repaying you. What's your name?”

“Seriously, you don't have to it was my pleasure, and I'm Kara, Kara Danvers.” She replied with an outstretched hand which Cat shook, and tried to ignore how wonderfully soft the woman's hands were, and the feeling that she didn't want to let go of it.

Cat forced herself to let go of her hand. “Well Keira, thank you again for your generosity, but I will not allow a service like that to go unpaid for. It just wouldn't be right.”

Kara smiled, but did correct her on the pronunciation of her name but then paused and looked down at the ground for a moment. Cat watched her features soften in thought before she bit her lip and looked back up at her with a grin, and said. “How about coffee?”

Cat considered the offer, but then an image of Carter waiting at home popped up in her mind. She was torn. Carter meant the absolute world to her, and she really didn't want to possibly worry him further, and make him wait even longer for the care that he needed from her. On the other hand she thought _'he is with Ella... she knows not to leave until I come home, and they have places to charge my phone at coffee shops... I could let him know what happened and tell him I stopped for coffee, and it should all be okay, right?'_ The woman waited with a patient smile as Cat deliberated, and then finally decided that she had the time to have coffee with this woman who had come to her rescue, and said “Coffee sounds great.”

Kara's smile only grew brighter, and out shined the first stars that had just begun to appear in the evening sky. “Perfect, how about Noonan's? I think it's only a few blocks away from the next exit.”

“Perfect.” Cat repeated, and returned the smile.

The two women returned to their cars, and Cat followed the other woman to the freeway exit, and to the little coffee shop that sat on a street corner beneath a towering sky scraper. They sat and ordered their coffees, Cat got a latte for herself, just how she liked it, but she took note of Kara ordering hers with pumpkin spice and a little cinnamon sprinkled on top. Though she didn't understand why. It wasn't like she was ever going to see this girl again. No, she was just going to drink this latte, maybe attempt some small talk, and then leave and return to her life, and this girl would return to hers and that would be the end of it.

“So what do you do?” Kara broke the silence.

Cat perked up, and began to explain her work, and about halfway through the explanation she couldn't help but notice that the blonde was staring at her, enraptured and hanging on every word she said. Once again, Cat chose to ignore it. 'No, you're just seeing things, she's just being an attentive listener.' and she continued to think similar thoughts and brushing off the way that Kara eyes sparkled as they sat and talked long after they had both finished their drinks. Not to mention, that even if this woman did by some stroke of a miracle have feelings for her only an hour after they had met, she didn't have the time. Not time to find it in her heart to trust someone again, or for dates. She had a child to feed, and soccer practice to take him to, and work to deal with. Not to mention that this girl was half her age.

Even as these thoughts ran through her mind, she couldn't help but let herself get just a little lost on the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen, and just as she thought _'God, she's so beautiful...'_ , Kara asked in a soft voice, “Do you have kids?”

All Cat said was “He's seven.”

Kara smiled brightly, and Cat could see the hint of a blush in her cheeks as she looked down at her hands for a moment, then back to Cat. “I saw the dinosaur plushie and crayons in the backseat. I love kids.”

“He's a wonderful boy, he's my everything.” Cat said with a proud look.

“Does he have your eyes?” Kara asked with a slight tilt of her head as she reached out and took Cat's hand in hers.

There was a fond look in Kara's eyes that melted Cat's heart that she was so sure had turned to stone on that rainy night in Metropolis. After a long moment quiet moment, she let her fingers intertwine with the soft slender ones Kara's hand and nodded in answer to the question. She could've ignored the question, could've just gotten up and walked away and forgot this ever happened. She could've just said thank you and drove home to her son, but here she was, talking late into the evening with this beautiful stranger who rescued her. Cat Grant could've been afraid to fall in love that night, but she didn't have time.

 


End file.
